


Do You Remember The Time

by Saanak



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Carol remembers things slowly, F/F, not rated G for tiny mentions of sexy times but it's really really PG
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 04:17:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20168023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saanak/pseuds/Saanak
Summary: Maria could still lie, cover the truth – but she remembers that the woman who is standing in front of her has been ripped of her past and lied to for 6 years. She remembers that this woman is her best friend and her partner, even if said partner doesn’t remember it.ORCarol remembers owning a watch and ends up learning much more than she expected about her relationship with Maria.





	Do You Remember The Time

**Author's Note:**

> So Counterpunch and I kinda discussed the presence of that watch in some of the photos Monica shows Carol, and some headcanons were created!  
I hope y'all will like this, enjoy !

Maria’s awaken in the middle of the night by strange noises in the house. Weirdly, once she’s awake enough to think, she notices that the noises don’t come from downstairs, where it would be easier to steal things without being noticed.

So she grabs her trusty baseball bat – a gift from Carol that has come handy once or twice, but she hasn’t used it in a while – and opens quietly her room’s door.

She rapidly checks Monica’s room. Her daughter is fast asleep, probably dreaming of aliens and –

She drops her bat and runs to the guest room, where none other than Carol Danvers is rummaging through old boxes, her back to the door, the only light illuminating the scene… coming from herself.

“What are you doing?” Maria asks in a whisper. It is, after all, a legitimate question.

Carol starts, and turns around. “Maria!” She looks sheepish at having been caught, her hair dishevelled like she just landed. She seems to realize the time when she notices Maria’s pyjamas. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

It’s the third time Carol is back – counting her first return to Earth after 6 years of abduction. They’re both hesitant of how to act around each other: Vers has been replaced by a curious mix of _alien_ and something uniquely Carol, and still lacks a lot of memories – crucial memories, at least to Maria.

Carol is in her space suit, smelling vaguely of ozone, and Maria suddenly feels exposed in her pyjamas. She crosses her arms.

“It’s okay. Even though I would have preferred a phone call, or whatever you use up there.”

This manages to get a small smile out of Carol. “I remembered something, and since the Skrull didn’t need me I rushed ho- here.”

“What did you remember?” she tries not to get her hopes up, Carol could have remembered anything. But after all, if it was important enough to travel back here…

“I think I used to own a watch?” Carol asks, looking unsure.

Maria nods. It’s hard – incredibly painful - to see Carol _not_ recall things like this. Things that are – were – integral parts of who she was.

“Do you know where it is?”

Maria considers lying. It’s not a thought she’s proud of, but it would be easier than to explain…

“I do,” she answers. “You won’t find it in there though,” she adds while motioning to the boxes.

Carol watches her curiously. Maria could still lie, cover the truth – but she remembers that the woman who is standing in front of her has been ripped of her past and lied to for 6 years. She remembers that this woman is her best friend and her partner, even if said partner doesn’t remember it.

She continues. “Come with me.”

Carol follows her obediently, down the hall again, all the way to Maria’s room. Once they’re both inside, Maria goes to her commode and takes out a blue box. The watch inside has a red wrist band. She hands it to Carol, who contemplates it for a few seconds.

“My grand-father gave it to me,” Carol finally says.

Maria nods, despite the lack of a question.

“And then it stopped working, but I kept it somewhere. And… you found it, and repaired it for my birthday.” Carol looks at her the same way she did when Maria repaired the watch. It’s been ages since she’s seen this look.

Back when she had found it, she had no idea why that watch was so important to Carol. But she knew instantly it had _meaning_ because of the care with which it was tucked away in a box wrapped in a clean cloth. So she had cleaned and repaired it.

Carol turns the watch, exposing the back. There are 3 sets of initials on the watch, each engraved with care.

The first ones are Carol’s grand-father’s, W.D. Besides, in smaller lettering, J.C. can be seen. Carol’s grand-mother’s initials, added after their marriage.

The second ones are Carol’s, below her grand-parents’.

Below them, M.R. can be read.

Carol thumbs the initials, feeling the relief.

“I think she’s old enough to have it, don’t you?” she murmurs.

Maria stays silent, overcome with memories and emotions she thought were long gone.

* * *

_Carol had engraved the initials for Monica’s first birthday. Maria had asked what she would do if she ever had children of her own. Carol had looked at her, then at Monica, with such tenderness that it had taken Maria’s breath away. “I guess I’ll have to buy a new watch,” Carol had joked, and she had made it sound like it would never happen. _

_Maria had realized how serious Carol was about her commitment to Maria and Monica when she had showed up on Monica’s second birthday…_

* * *

Carol then notices the date inscribed between her own initials and Monica’s – it predates Monica’s birth by seven years. It’s at the end of August, and if her memories serve her right… “That’s the day I met you.”

She’s hit by a flash of her childhood – she doesn’t get many of those, she presumes it’s because even before being taken, she didn’t like to think about it. Her grand-father, William Danvers, is seated beside her, handing her the watch.

“He told me to wait until I was absolutely sure before engraving a new name on it.”

Carol looks at Maria. “I was sure about Monica the minute I laid eyes on her”. She continues, murmuring, “Truth is, I was sure about you the day you repaired that watch. It just took a while to recognize my feelings for what they were.”

It’s all a bit too much for 3 am on a Friday – now Saturday – night. Maria can’t believe her ears nor her eyes. She takes a step forward, both eager and terrified to touch Carol – what if it’s just a dream? “And what were those feelings?” Maria asks. She has to know if Carol knows of their life together, of what they were to each to other.

Carol raises her hand, avoiding Maria’s face to run her fingers through Maria’s hair. The gesture is Maria’s downfall. This is Carol, her Carol. No one has ever touched her hair like this, with such reverence, and there’s no way this version of Carol can do this and not...

Maria opens her eyes – she hadn’t even noticed she had closed them - and the brown eyes watching her are knowing.

“I was in love with you.” Carol whispers. “And you were in love with me?” she asks, looking a bit incredulous.

Maria nods, and finds her voice again. “Trust me, I was just as surprised as you when I realized that.”

They both chuckle and Carol removes her hand from Maria’s hair. Maria catches it, wanting to keep a point of contact with the woman in front of her – still making sure it’s not a dream.

“Do you still feel the same way?” Carol asks, looking at their linked hands.

It is such a loaded question. “I don’t know,” Maria answers, because there’s no point in lying now. “I was in love with a woman who’s gone, at least partially.” Maria sighs and closes Carol’s other hand over the watch. “You need to figure out who you are first.”

“What if I remember? You told me who I was, once. It helped. Being away from the Kree helps.”

“I know.” But just as she says that, Maria realizes something else. “But I don’t want you to force yourself into being someone you’re not. I can’t… I can’t tell you who you are.”

Carol gazes at the watch for a long time.

So long in fact, that Maria gets worried. “Carol?”

“What if… what if who I am isn’t good enough?”

Carol has unshed tears in her eyes when she finally looks at Maria. Maria’s heart breaks when she understands how Carol interpreted her words. This time she doesn’t resist her impulsion and hugs her best friend.

“You’ve always been good enough. You’ll always be, you hear me?”

As Carol sniffles and nods into Maria’s neck, Maria continues: “You’re family Carol, whoever you become.”

She releases Carol.

“You can stay here as long as you want. The guest-room is yours.”

* * *

So Carol stays a while, goes see Fury, gets to know Maria and Monica again – and herself.

Soon enough – too soon, in Maria’s opinion – even if she knows it’s for a good reason, Carol has to go and help Talos and his people.

But Carol makes a point to come back, whenever she can, but at least once every 3 months.

She feels an incredible sense of pride and relief when she manages to remember Maria’s birthday a day before it’s happening and manages to cross a few galaxies in the span of 10 Earth hours to go back to Louisiana on time. She barely manages to land properly given her level of exhaustion, but she doesn’t care. She even has a present – a present from space! – but it’s the smile on Maria’s face when she realizes Carol is here that makes all the trouble worth it.

* * *

Carol rarely asks about her past anymore – living in the present is more her speed these days, or so she says.

One night though, Carol asks something unexpected. They’re sitting on the porch, a beer in hand, enjoying the quietness of the evening.

“Did we ever…,”she starts, then stops. Maria looks at her, expectedly, “you know, have sex?”

Maria almost spits her beer. “Sorry, what?”

“Well, if we were a couple, one might assume that we did,” Carol adds, looking innocently at Maria. It could almost be a genuine question, but Maria feels, _knows_, that Carol already knows the answer. There’s that playful glint in Carol’s eyes, the one she always had when she teased Maria – which was at least 10 times a day, back when they lived together. So Maria decides to have some fun herself.

She checks that Monica is _not_ within earshot, and says “Yes Carol, we used to have sex.” And, leaning towards Carol slowly, she whispers in her ear: “In fact, I recall _vividly_ the many times this exact situation led to you screaming my name.”

Carol emits a small sound of surprise and blushes a deep red – Maria’s theory is confirmed.

“So you do remember.”

Carol looks at her with a mix of lingering desire and ever-present tenderness. “I do.” She adds promptly, with a smirk “I can also remember a good amount of times _you _were the one asking for more.”

It’s Maria’s time to blush – although between the growing darkness and her complexion she’s not sure Carol can tell.

They stay silent for a few seconds, then Carol’s tone grows serious. “I didn’t want to rush you into anything. I remember, everything. And I know who I am.”

“And who’s that?” Maria knows by now how easily she could fall again for Carol – maybe because she never truly stopped loving her. But it was complicated back then – it’s even more so now.

Carol takes Maria’s hand and strokes the knuckles gently. There’s an old scar there, one that Maria didn’t get while tinkering on planes. “I’m the woman you punched a guy to protect.”

She then shows Maria her trusty watch, that she usually carries in a pocket of her suit.

“The woman you repaired that watch for.”

Finally, Carol’s hands start glowing. “The woman who would like to take you on a trip through space… literally. If you would like?”

Maria can’t help the smile that forms on her face. To hell with complicated, she’s been in love with that woman for years. It’s not a matter of falling anymore, she trusts Carol to never let her go.

“I would like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> At the risk of sounding like a broken record, kudos, comments and prompts are deeply appreciated!  
Always alexdumas-ghost on tumblr if you wanna say hi!


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